Sound Impressions
Bass
The XD05 BAL 2’s bass quantity factor is high if you use the bass switch. Without it, it is still bass elevated, noticeably so over something like the CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2, and on par with what I know 100% objectively to be a boosted bass circuit in the XRK Uber portable amplifier that I reviewed years ago. The stock XD05 BAL 2 is similar in bass quantity to the XRK.
Bass fidelity is less stellar than the HiFi-M8 V2, but more fun, more musical, less pure, thicker, and much warmer feeling. This is a darker amplifier tone than the CEntrance and even darker than the XRK.
As far as fidelity goes, the experience for the price is good, but not great. I am happy to sacrifice some fidelity and purity for the sake of raw fun factor and high musicality, which this amp provides.
The fidelity between the much more expensive HiFi-M8 V2 is noticeable and the XRK is also roughly on par with the XD05 BAL 2, but then again, that XRK is well, uber good.
Midrange
The XD05 BAL 2 is also neither forward, nor recessed. It is just neutral in that sense of physical placement of where voices appear from. My HiFi-M8 V2 is more bloomed in the mids, the XD05 BAL 2 is a more flat feeling and less blossoming in the forwardness of the midrange.
Fidelity is again, just good, but not great. What fidelity gets sacrificed is made up for with immense creaminess, vivid tone, and tonal heft. All these features are lacking in the more expensive reference tone amps out there.
This one is made for fun, for those who want musicality. You can get a more sterile sound with the other Opamp modules xDuoo has though.
Treble
The XD05 BAL 2 top side is very tame and severely lacks the bite and engaging factor that my XRK and the HiFi-M8 V2 offer.
The XRK is cheaper and much smaller, also that XRK doesn’t have 1/3 the power output so it’s basically useless with more demanding headphones, but the XD05 BAL 2’s extra power in high gain makes or breaks the top side experience with headphones that react nice to more power.
Headphones like the Starry Night V2 that I’ve just reviewed, where the extra power is needed. Funny enough, the XD05 BAL 2 requires a 90% volume with high gain just to get good audio listening levels on that headphone.
This amp is very mellow from top to bottom, and one can really hear the most on the top side, where the entire experience lacks that gentle brightness and zing that I enjoy a lot.
Staging & Dynamics
Imaging takes a bit of a bit due to the lack of top side brightness factor, but the width factor is the best trait found in this model. Compared with the HiFi-M8 V2, the XD05 BAL 2 sounds much wider but less spacious and dynamic.
It certainly sounds better than the TR-Amp by Earmen, and the XRK sounds tiny too when directly A/B’ed with the XD05 BAL 2. Imaging is not the amp’s strong suit but what is there is more than fine for most mid-tier headphones.
I am more than happy to use this amp with the Drop Sennheiser HD 8xx because this model is a bit darker and bassier than the standard HD800 from Sennheiser.
That sacrifice of a little spaciousness for a more musical-friendly tone is immensely appreciated and I really enjoy that combo, quite a lot.
Synergy
The xDuoo XD05 BAL 2 is supremely user-friendly and offers a ton of variations of itself, either with physical switches, different tone Opamps, or internal software filters that change the sound a bit.
The amp is immensely open to being used by the majority of headphones out there and I would rank the synergy factor extremely high, also due to the excellent input and output functions it offers.
So long as you aren’t using something incredibly hard to drive, something like the Hifiman HE-6 or the Starry Night V2 Planar headphones, you’ll enjoy this, and it will power your rig perfectly fine. The difficult-to-drive HD800 from Sennheiser is excellent through this amp’s balanced output.
Select Comparisons
CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2
At nearly double the price, the HiFi-M8 V2 is much more natural and colorless in tone, but it cannot change, while the XD05 BAL 2 Opamps can be altered to provide a similar less warm tone.
The CEntrance battery life isn’t anywhere near this xDuoo, however, the XD05 BAL 2 is slightly weaker in output power. The stock XD05 BAL 2 has a warmer, thicker feeling. The CEntrance is more neutral and thin feeling in substance factor.
Earmen TR-Amp
The Earmen TR-Amp is dead neutral and an excellent portable amplifier. I vastly prefer its design and styling.
Clarity between them isn’t that far off but the XD05 BAL 2 has like a thousand more features on it and can be used as a Bluetooth connective source. The Earmen TR-Amp has a much more forward midrange and engaging vocal experience but lacks the clarity of the XD05 BAL 2.
XRK NHB
The NHB is a crazy underrated portable amp but it has an extremely low synergy factor and has just a regular 3.5mm input and output.
However, it is immensely tuned, and musical, and has a better treble experience that is much more engaging and beautiful. The XD05 BAL 2 is tamer on the top side, however, it has the potential for a ton more bass output than the XRK.
Our Verdict
The xDuoo XD05 BAL 2 is a powerhouse of a source and amp. You can’t go wrong. I love its tone and texture, but I wish it had more treble brightness sometimes and a slightly more forward midrange.
Otherwise, it has a slew of amazing features and functions. Can’t go wrong here for the price.
xDuoo XD05 BAL 2 Specifications
- Battery: 3.8V/5000mAh
- Screen: 0.91” OLED
- Applicable OS: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, Android
- Frequency response USB/SPDIF: 20Hz – 20kHz AMP: 10Hz – 100kHz
- Sampling rate support
- USB MQA: 8X, PCM: 16-32BIT /44.1-768kHz, DSD: DOP/Native mode, DSD64-512
- AES/Optical/Coaxial PCM: 16-24BIT/44.1-192kHz, DSD: DSD64 (DOP)
- Bluetooth formats: AAC, SBC, APTX, APTX_LL, APTX_HD, LDAC
- Turbo: +6/15dB, Bass: +6dB
- Battery life USB IN: ≥9 hours, SPDIF IN: ≥15 hours, AUX IN: ≥24 hours
- Charging time ≤3 hours (fast charging), ≤6 hours (slow charging)
- Size 5.19” x 2.9” x 0.8” (13.2cm x 7.5cm x 2.2cm)
- Weight: 0.6lbs (0.3kg)
6.5mm output parameters
- Output power: 1500mW @32Ω
- THD+N: 0.0012%
- SNR: 120dB
- Crosstalk: ≥72dB
4.4mm output parameters
- Output power: 1500mW @32Ω
- THD+N: 0.00065%
- SNR: 120dB
- Crosstalk: ≥100dB
Aux out parameters
- Output level: 2.0Vrms
- THD+N: 0.0008%
- SNR: 120dB
- Crosstalk: ≥100dB
